


Love Again

by Gigi_Bell



Series: Fantasy [18]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Byun Baekhyun Being Dumb, Cute Ending, Eventual Romance, M/M, Magic, Mates, Potions, Scenting, Soft Park Chanyeol, Spells & Enchantments, The star of the show is Momo the sloth, Werewolf Park Chanyeol, Witch Byun Baekhyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:20:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29744889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gigi_Bell/pseuds/Gigi_Bell
Summary: When a four hundred year old witch finds solidarity in a hidden cabin, the last thing he expects is a werewolf to place itself right in front of his door and adamantly follow him around.Baekhyun tolerates Chanyeolonlybecause his pet sloth likes him.(Or so he tells himself.)
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Series: Fantasy [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055237
Comments: 44
Kudos: 206





	Love Again

**Author's Note:**

> This work is solely mine, I do not allow stories to be posted on any other site, and any translations that are done will be posted here on my own page, I don’t allow my works to be posted under any other accounts.
> 
> Attaching some links to videos so you know how to picture Momo & his noises! Sloths are actually very noisy!
> 
> This one starting at 0:50 for reference of size and cuteness: https://youtu.be/n7mfmajqhKM
> 
> This is noises: https://youtu.be/6cXbcEMPdiQ

Baekhyun was a third level witch, the highest level. He’d been top of his rank for the past hundred years and a university professor with focus on potions and spells.

But everyone needed change every once in a while.

One day he grew tired of the buzzing street lamps, car horns blaring, and humans that began to merge their life with supernatural creatures.

It had been easy for him to decide to pack up and leave.

Baekhyun had always been the kind of witch who preferred the silence of solidarity and the tinkering of animals outside his home rather than humans with curiosity that could cost them a limb. 

He’d been alive much too long to find it bothersome to quit his job - it was more of a pastime seeing as he had hundreds of years worth of money under his belt - to find his old maps, and to come back _home._

Baekhyun had not been home since the late 1700s. 

The cabin used to be a place in the middle of a village, where market carts used to stop and sell his family herbs and humans came to ask for help with a variety of shortcomings. 

The Byun family had always been a bit stiff in their ways, and if the price hadn’t been right then they’d reject the humans no matter what illness they had or their requests. At least _that_ had changed. 

Baekhyun now considered himself a rather com _passionate_ witch, which wasn’t much considering witches were known to have no feelings, but at least it was _something._

(Witches also were known to have egos the size of Manhattan, so a bit of compassion wasn’t much considering these were creatures so powerful they could cure the plague, yet chose not to.) 

It had been so many years since he’d gone home that everything he remembered was gone. It was not all replaced with a dense rainforest some hundreds of miles from civilization.

Instead of the cattle shed that used to be at the end of the road, there was now a single giant kapok tree that shadowed the rainforest that had once been an entire village.

Baekhyun remembered climbing through the windows of the old, flimsy shack when his parents made him upset and petting the cows.

He’d always liked animals much more than people, but he hated their messes. So before leaving his home in the city, he’d opted for a pet not high maintenance to keep him company. 

He could have gotten a dragon or a creature of his own worldly kind, but even then they required land that the rainforest couldn’t provide. 

Momo would keep him company enough, even if sloths kept to themselves and made little to no fuss. In fact, he seemed happy to do whatever Baekhyun was doing and had rode in the breast pocket of his robe snoozing the entire journey deep into the tropical forest.

Baekhyun was glad he was the best spell caster for miles, because he’d managed to enchant his belongings to fit in a tiny suitcase and carry it through the dense brush.

The cabin itself was just as he remembered. As expected, considering it was enchanted and absorbed energy to keep itself from falling apart. 

The tropical forest provided plenty of energy. Birds buzzed overhead, monkeys screamed to each other across the treetops, and jaguars were on the prowl.

If Baekhyun were lucky, maybe he could find a family of sloths to come visit Momo and keep him company, although sloths slept more than half of the hours in a day.

The witch took a deep breath as he looked at the outside of the cabin. It was late now and he would have no light to look around his area and see how the rainforest grew around his old village, but as far as he could see there was work to be done.

The outside was covered in vines and overgrown brush, and Baekhyun strangely found the sight quite pretty. The only change he’d need to do would be trim around the opening of the fireplace at the top of the cabin and perhaps cut the creeping vines on the windows.

Other than that, it was untouched, unweathered, and unchanged. There was still even a small, black metal fence in front of the porch where there had once been a young Baekhyun learning how to speed up plant growth all on his own.

“Welcome home, Momo,” The witch muttered as he reached into his pocket to pluck out the lazy eyed, red colored three toed sloth cub. 

Momo fit perfectly in his palm and his claws were only about an inch big. He was underweight and seen as a runt.

It was one of the reasons Baekhyun had wanted him - he _too_ had once been this scrawny, small, and weak seeming creature at one time - Momo was the underdog, but with his help Baekhyun would make him invincible.

Of course that would be years from now when he had a fully grown sloth on his hands, one that could physically withstand potions.

The sloth gave a big yawn, curling his three toes around his finger when Baekhyun pet beside his big brown eyes. Then, he gave a single squeak and his eyes began to flicker shut.

“Goodness,” Baekhyun smiled despite himself and slipped the sloth into his pocket once more, the little creature slumped his head against the opening, like he wanted to see his new surroundings yet was unable to stay awake. “Good night to you too, my love.” 

Momo would likely be up for a bit once Baekhyun was able to cut up some plants for him, but it took the cub a good few hours to munch down on his leaves, so Baekhyun had to spare time to watch and make sure he didn’t choke. 

It had been so long since he’d had a pet to care for himself that he forgot sometimes how scary it could be to have a pet, so he was paranoid of every peep that came from the baby sloth. 

With a deep breath, Baekhyun walked into his cabin of solitude with the intentions of setting up his pet’s bed.

***

One of the reasons Baekhyun wanted to move away was because, in a way, he felt he was slowly losing touch with the Earth and becoming spoiled.

While that may not seem like a big deal to others, for witches it was. 

They had been raised off of herbal spells after all. He’d been taught to always only take what you need and appreciate nature for giving him resources to use his magic.

But in the city everything was _excess._ He could go to the market and buy years worth of sage in one sitting. He could take all he liked of bird feathers and lizard tails. 

There was some moment where Baekhyun realized it was all too _easy._ It was all given to him. If he needed a dragon's scale then his university gave it, if he needed a sirens tail then there were people he could call. 

Where was the struggle? Back in the days where he used to pack bags and go on journeys to find fairies hiding in their mushroom shaped homes to politely ask for a bit of fairy dust. 

Baekhyun wanted to live off the land, but boy it was tiring already. Perhaps he’d grown lazy living among humans.

That chance was very high.

“Oh hush, hush, why are you screaming?” Baekhyun tsked and turned to look over his shoulder at Momo.

The sloth had this look on his face that looked similar to a smile, tucked in the corner of the couch resting on his belly with his head on a pink teddy bear and a single arm flopped over the armrest, the other was resting inside of his wooden bowl of greens.

“Are you playing with me? What is _with_ this squeaking, my dear?” The witch laughed, pulling away from the corner of the room to take a break. One it seemed he needed because the sloth, when awake, was one full of neediness.

The past two days had been a journey. He’d cleaned out the inside of the three room cabin and even expanded the inside with a few enchantments to give himself a basement where his cauldron fit perfectly and he could keep his more _dangerous_ things downstairs and out of a certain curious sloth's reach.

And now he was building a makeshift platform and tree for his baby sloth to climb on. 

Of course Baekhyun would take him to play outside when he found more time, but when winter came or the weather was bad he still needed a place for Momo to play and sleep - although the sloth was growing so used to his pillows that he screamed when Baekhyun tried to place him in his own bed.

Baekhyun would have to set up the internet soon just to look up: _what to do when your sloth has attachment issues?_

But the main issue right now was the fact that he was _not_ a hands-on person, not a builder at least. He kept getting measurements wrong and the climbing area was looking horrendous. 

At this rate he may just say _to hell with it_ and let the sloth climb around the kitchen cabinets. 

“You're so loud today.” Baekhyun commented, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead before approaching the tan colored, gold trimmed couch to take a seat and pet Momo. 

He leaned down to catch eyes with the sloth and caught the back foot that was slowly making its way into his lap. “Are you kicking your father now? You're a grumpy sloth today.” 

As if laughing at him, the sloth made a sniffly, squealing laugh and gnawed at the stem of his leaf before trying to sit up. 

“Oh _goodness goodness.”_ Baekhyun cooed, scooping him up to press a kiss right onto his soft, pink nose, “Maybe you need to go potty. Let’s take you outside.” 

Once Momo got a bit bigger he wouldn’t have a problem leaving him to play outside on his own or hang on the cabin, but as things were the sloth was too little.

And Baekhyun _probably_ babied him more than needed.

The witch grabbed Momo’s stuffed animal off the couch, sloths liked to hold things at all times, so Baekhyun _had_ to bring his toy or the sloth would be furious.

“Oh I know! I know!” Baekhyun laughed as the sloth grabbed onto his neck, hanging on with legs around his toy. “We’re going as fast as we can, you know, for a sloth you sure like to be moved fast!” 

Baekhyun quickly took him outside to place him on the beside the trees in front of the cabin, arranging the bear beneath him for stability.

The witch sighed and took a look around to kill time, placing himself on the step of the porch and looking around the overhanging tree tops.

It would be nice if he could make something similar to that for the baby sloth, but the truth was he wasn’t skilled with building.

Baekhyun internally grumbled and rubbed his temple as he thought about having to make a trip to the village to pay someone to make him a small replica tree, but he'd do what he needed to for Momo.

Witches always took responsibility for their actions, and the moment he accepted the sloth from a friend he knew he had to keep him. 

It wasn’t Kyungsoo’s fault that tree spirits couldn’t take care of weak animals, their morals wouldn’t allow them to interfere with the circle of life.

Witches on the other hand did whatever the _hell_ they wanted. And if the time came where Baekhyun had to use magic on his little sloth, then so be it.

Baekhyun was in his own world looking around and planning to trim some more leaves for his sloth tomorrow when abruptly there was a soft cry from Momo and a soft _thump._

“Oh, you're okay!” Baekhyun jumped to his feet to fix the sloth who toppled over, bear now squishing him, but Momo cried like he'd just been scared to bits at the sudden roll over.

Baekhyun hoped sloths would gain balance later on, because _good god_ Momo had none at all. 

The witch sat on his knees holding the sloth onto his bear and patting his back gently to calm him down when he noticed the baby was still crying.

Not a normal thing considering Momo would fall down and cry, but once Baekhyun fixed him he would always stop.

Baekhyun found out the reason why because of a crackle of twigs two meters to his right from behind him.

The witch hissed and jumped to his feet clutching the sloth. He spun around with his teeth bared and ready to face a jaguar or perhaps an anaconda coming after his dearest sloth.

Contrary to popular belief, witches were _not_ beings that could use magic whenever and wherever. That title fell to fairies or nymphs, witches created potions and concoctions for all their worries, it was how the idea of _witch cauldrons_ came about.

But that did not mean Baekhyun would just allow himself to be walked on by predators here in the rainforest. 

He was immortal, would heal if injured, and had plenty of health potions inside if need be. 

But that didn’t make him any less fearful when put eye to eye with a gigantic _wolf._

His first thought was _why was there a wolf in the rainforest?_ His second thought was _why did it have red eyes?_ And his final, and most pressing thought, was _why is it cowering from me?_

“What are you doing here!” The witch scowled and shifted Momo to hang on his neck, giving the sloth a few reassuring pets, “Go! _Leave!”_

The black colored wolf was larger than his entire _porch_ and it was sniffing around with it's ears pressed hard against its head and tail between its legs like _it_ was the one being scared.

Baekhyun realized then that if this wolf had taken this area as his territory then _technically_ he was the one invading.

“What are you doing! Hey! What are you-“

Baekhyun groaned aloud as the wolf planted itself right on his porch. 

It’s large paws climbed steps and made the porch creak as if it would give out before the wolf took it upon itself to lay down, _stretch out_ like it owned the place, and rest it's heavy head on its paws with a yawn.

The witch was flabbergasted. 

An abnormally sized wolf had just said _the porch is mine_ and was currently going to bed on his _goddam porch!_

“Yah! Get out of here! This is my house!” Baekhyun screamed in outrage, but the wolf didn't even open its eyes. The pair of ears on its head twitched, but other than that there was no way he knew the wolf was paying attention to him.

 _Was this a trap?_ If he walked past would the wolf jump out and grab him? 

Well, the only way to find out was to _try._

Baekhyun tucked Momo into his shirt protectively and kept his eyes on the wolf as he bent down to collect the sloth’s bear, eyes narrowed and flickering to the huge tail that was wagging back and forth between the porch rails.

“You move and I’ll curse you.” The witch threatened as he started towards the door, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

The thing was, the wolf didn’t move a muscle. It didn’t open its eyes, didn’t even raise its head or sniff at him. It just laid there.

Baekhyun slammed and locked the door behind him with a racing heart and wondered what potion he needed to make to get rid of this goddamn wolf.

***

The wolf was a pain in the ass. It had been laying in front of the door for two whole days. _Two._

Baekhyun's patience was running out _and_ the fresh greens he had for Momo. And that was unacceptable.

The witch had finally lost his cool. It was either approach the wolf and order it to leave or go head first into dumping some sort of acidic concoction on it, and Baekhyun _unfortunately_ did like animals, so he wanted to give it a chance to leave before permanently removing it's fur.

It was dawn when he threw the door open and stood in the doorway with crossed arms. 

“Wake up, you lazy thing!” Baekhyun ordered, prodding at the wolf’s side with his foot, “You are in my way! I need to get out to the forest!” 

Surprisingly, red eyes shot open and the wolf was sitting back onto its hind legs without so much as a growl at the witch’s kicking.

Baekhyun frowned, _was it really that easy?_ He pressed his lips together and looked over the wolf as he shut the door carefully behind him. 

“Don't bite me.” Baekhyun demanded, pointing a finger at the creature.

Again, no response, not even a blink of red eyes.

Baekhyun furrowed his brows and turned to grab a small bucket from beside the door before climbing down the steps.

There was a well just between the trees if he estimated correctly, he hoped that the water was still full to the top, because he had yet to bother fixing up some sort of water system. 

Just as he was a few feet away from the porch that same creaking sounded and he jumped to spin around with a yell, “Yah! Don't you move!”

The wolf looked scandalized, only a back foot still on the porch and it’s heavy, large body was already trailing after him. 

“Don't!” Baekhyun hissed, “Unless you’re going back where you came from, don't move!” 

Yet, as soon as he turned back around the wolf moved again. This time the black furred, huge wolf sat itself a few feet behind him with a wagging tail and a tilted head. 

Swallowing nervously, Baekhyun pressed his back into a tree to look at it. “What’s your problem, wolf?” He barked, “Run off! Go!”

The wolf whimpered. It dropped onto its side and put all four paws in the air in a sign of submission. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “I’m not giving you belly rubs, _dog.”_

That didn’t stop the wolf from acting like a complete domesticated dog. It began to scratch it's back on the grass and look at him with a grin complete with sharp canines pressing to it's bottom lip. 

That was just _weird._

Baekhyun eyed it, positive it was a trick, before looking over the wolf once more. Closer. 

The only real thing that stuck out was it's sheer size, the fact it was not in its natural habitat, and this pattern of red fur on its side.

At the realization, Baekhyun’s eyes widened and he gawked, “You're a werewolf!” 

Baekhyun didn’t know much about werewolves, they tended to run in packs with actual wolves, and they were nonexistent in the city.

The only reason he knew that the red, nearly paw shaped mark on the wolf’s side was a werewolf symptom was because he’d studied some wolf fur for different potions before.

It’s said that the red patches of fur are full of magic that can be used to create the most dark of potions, but it was supposedly hard to get close enough to a werewolf to get hands on their fur, let alone a specific area of fur.

“Why…” Baekhyun frowned, “Why are you stalking my house? If this is a territory issue then too bad. This is my land, shoo.” 

The werewolf began to rumble with a handful of noises and it's tail smacked onto the grass when it plopped onto its side to look at him. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Look. I know you can shift, so if you want to talk then talk, but if not then leave me and my sloth alone. Okay?”

Whimpering again, the wolf climbed to its feet and lifted a front paw in a way that suggested it was hurt. Whining and giving him big, puppy eyes as it held it's foot up. 

The witch felt the corner of his mouth quirk up purely because it was kind of _cute,_ but he didn’t speak wolf and had no idea what it was saying to him.

“Okay. Here’s the deal, dog.” Baekhyun said firmly, “If you're sticking around then don’t get in my way. Deal?” 

It looked ridiculous when the huge, black wolf roared what Baekhyun figured was an agreement and took off running a lap around the tree beside the house, tongue lulled out and trotting happily.

Baekhyun huffed and rubbed his temple. 

The wolf ended up following him around the rainforest for the next hour while Baekhyun collected plants, and the witch wasn't sure what kind of werewolf this _was._

Certainly not one he'd heard about because it hadn’t gone for his throat just yet.

***

For a week Baekhyun had a wolf trailing after him anytime he stepped out of the cabin whether it be for a few minutes or just to take Momo potty the wolf was jumping from the treeline like it had been waiting all night.

Baekhyun was hesitant about what was going on, so he did what he was best at. He _researched._

It turns out that werewolves had a very strong sense, he'd expected as much, but what he learned was that wolves had _incredibly_ strong senses.

They can pick up on magic. 

Baekhyun prided himself on being a very powerful witch. His family had a pure lineage going back hundreds of years, so he was able to cast spells and make potions that many others could not.

The wolf must be able to sense the difference in his smell versus other magical forest creatures. 

Baekhyun didn’t know if somehow that’s why the wolf was comfortable with him, or if it was something else, but he was growing not to mind all that much.

The werewolf didn’t block his door anymore and it didn’t do much other than trail after him and occasionally bark and scare Momo to bits, but it didn’t lunge at him nor even growl. 

Perhaps the witch was also growing curious about the wolf.

“Remember what I told you?” Baekhyun said quietly as he bent down to his knees, eyeing the wolf, “He's sensitive. Don't be mean to him.” He demanded.

The wolf flicked an ear and nodded it's huge head up and down, dropping it's nose to the dirt in what Baekhyun assumed was him being _gentle._

He didn’t know how gentle a werewolf could really _be_ so he was hesitant about this, but even Momo had begun to try and look at the wolf more. 

Momo was just a baby and spent most of his time clinging to Baekhyun’s neck and sleeping, but even the sloth was curious about the werewolf and twice now Baekhyun had caught him trying to scoot his way to the wolf. 

He always made the werewolf sit far, far away when he played with Momo outside. 

But today he was feeling nice. Well, as nice as a four hundred year old, brooding witch could get.

“If you make any sudden movements I’m gonna knock you upside the head,” Baekhyun said calmly, as if it wasn’t a threat at all, as he placed the sloth down in the grass, detaching his clinging arms.

“Momo, this is wolf, wolf this is Momo. I’ll kill you if you hurt him.” Baekhyun introduced, earning a whine from the werewolf at the comment.

The sloth began to make experimental, squealing noises and raise his arms to try and find something to latch onto. 

In this case, it was the wolf’s big head when it leaned over to sniff at him.

Baekhyun felt a rush of anxiety looking at this huge wolf pressing a nose to Momo’s, it could swallow the poor baby sloth whole if it wanted to. 

But it didn’t. Instead, the wolf sat back down onto the grass and wagged back and forth incredibly fast, turning to look at Baekhyun with an expression that said _did I do well?_

Baekhyun snickered at such a goofy look, scooping Momo up, but it seemed the sloth found a new friend because he began to do the crying noises he made when Baekhyun wasn’t giving him attention, only he was grasping the air in the wolf’s direction.

The witch groaned and gave a warning look to the werewolf. “We have to go into the forest today, so I’ll trust you to watch him only this _once._ If you let anything happen - I mean anything - I will hang your fur up in my basement.” 

The werewolf seemed to take the threat seriously because even his tail stopped moving so fast as Baekhyun laid the sloth on his back. 

Baekhyun manually wrapped Momo’s arms around the wolf’s neck and the sloth cooed a sleepy sound as he draped legs around the wolf’s neck.

Momo looked so silly because he was so tiny and the sloth could have a tight grip when going to bed, so he clutched the wolf just like it was a thick tree trunk with his little claws as leverage to make sure he held tight.

Baekhyun wondered if that hurt, because Momo’s arms were long enough to wrap around his neck so he never got clawed up by the nails, but if the wolf was in pain because of them it didn’t show.

“Okay, come along. I have to find a cecropia tree for Momo’s dinner.” The witch whistled and patted his thigh as he strolled into the trees. 

The forest was awfully damp today, more humid than normal too, so Baekhyun was sure a storm was rolling in. 

It wasn’t ideal for a witch dressed in a long robe to be strolling through harsh brush and mud, but Baekhyun had yet to change his aesthetics.

He wanted to hold onto at least _some_ of his older things, but this weather system and filth was really testing his patience.

Baekhyun hummed to himself and ran his palm over Momo’s little back when the wolf walked past him seeing as the werewolf was about as tall as his hips. 

He’d heard that werewolves were bigger than even dire wolves, and now he could believe it seeing as there was absolutely no way this wolf could have hid out too long without him noticing him due to his size.

But at the same time it wasn’t like the wolf was _trying_ to hide. If it was then Baekhyun doubted he'd ever have spotted it in the first place.

Baekhyun plucked a few berries and plants along the way with the wolf trotting in front of him, large body crunching down the brush and making it a bit easier for him to walk through.

It was pretty peaceful actually, other than the sweat beading up on his skin, and the few congregations of bugs he had to walk through.

Well, it _was_ peaceful until abruptly the werewolf began to chuff. Not a noise that a wolf made when simply walking along, but a sound of warning.

“Wolf?” Baekhyun wondered, standing up and tossing his canvas bag on his arm. The wolf was a ways away, staring straight up at the treetops. 

“Wolf? Hello? Why are you-“

The werewolf outright began to snarl, it's lips pulled up and slobber began to pool around its mouth as it barked aggressively. 

Baekhyun was scared for a moment and began to rush closer intending to grab Momo from the wolf when he noticed that the werewolf was _not_ barking at something unimportant.

There were a bunch of round, interested eyes staring down at them from the trees.

Monkeys were trying to take his goddamn _sloth._ The monkeys were trying to reach down and take Momo and were only backing off because of this wolf growling. 

Baekhyun gawked and reached over to snag Momo, the sloth was dead weight when asleep, and normally he would place him right inside of his favorite little napping place in his pocket, but he was so worried with all these monkeys eyeing them.

The monkeys were probably just curious, they tended to be, but if they took Momo up to the forest canopy the baby sloth would be in big danger.

Momo just wasn’t ready to go so high. His arms wrap around to hold onto Baekhyun’s pillows all the way yet, they only reached enough to hold the witch’s neck, and even then he didn’t have the muscles to go climbing up and down huge trees.

He would fall and get hurt. And Baekhyun didn’t know if monkeys were aggressive creatures, but the way they looked at him and the wolf suggested so. 

Now the witch was _pissed_ at the thought of his sloth getting hurt. They’d snatch him up and go running away with him without second thought.

Maybe they thought Momo was a baby monkey? He was small, he had long limbs… but he most certainly was no monkey with the tail strength to hold himself up in tree branches at birth. 

“You _filthy_ mammals. No wonder you are related to humans. Little thieves.” Baekhyun growled, forced back by a heavy head pressing into the side of his leg like the wolf was trying to lead him somewhere.

“Just you wait until I find some goblin blood out here!” Baekhyun threatened, “I’ll come back for you with poison!” 

The wolf growled a sound against his knee before taking a mouthful of Baekhyun’s coat and tugging hard at the witch’s clothing.

Baekhyun was never one to back down, especially not from these _pests,_ but the wolf was giving him no choice but to follow.

He hissed under his breath and turned to try and keep up with the yanks on his coat, but the werewolf was practically dragging him off in the opposite direction of his cabin.

Baekhyun didn’t know why until the wind began to pick up, now able to be felt through the dense forest, and he knew the storm was coming in fast.

“We’re going the wrong way, dog!” Baekhyun screamed, his palm protectively laid over his sleeping sloth’s head, “You're lucky you helped Momo or I’d never follow you out here!” 

The wolf snickered a noise at him before getting behind him to push its snout on Baekhyun’s back to push him a few more feet further into the forest. 

Baekhyun found out why when he was met with the entrance of a rocky, grassy cave beneath a fallen tree. 

“Is this your home?” 

In response, the wolf jumped up onto the fallen tree that blocked the cave and pointed its nose into the cave before looking back at him and doing it once more. _Follow me,_ it said. 

Baekhyun frowned and grabbed a handful of the wolf’s fur to pull himself up and over the tree, the creature grunted a bit, likely because he'd just used the wolf as a handle to get up, but otherwise just jumped down into the cave to get ahead of the witch.

It was dim inside and damp, but Baekhyun was so surprised at the interior. 

It confirmed everything he knew of werewolves, but namely it confirmed that the wolf could _indeed_ shift. 

There was a pile of vines and leaves in a makeshift bed and even a few human items like lanterns and a big bowl catching water from a hole in the cave.

It was definitely lived in. Just beside the bed was a pile of knives, rope, other items like wooden carvings, and even animal skins. At one point or another this wolf must have shifted into human form to do all of this. 

Baekhyun raised a brow at clothing in the corner too, what looked like a pair of large bottoms he'd seen the villagesfolk wearing miles out of the rainforest. 

“You're a man?” Baekhyun wondered. The wolf made a noise that sounded like laughter and Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Hey. It’s not like I checked, dog. Don't get so high and mighty, we have to get back to my house soo-“

 _Just_ as he said that the rain began to fall. Not just a small sprinkle, but a full blown storm. 

Luckily things didn’t get too cold here in the rainforest, but things being _wet_ were certainly a problem. Baekhyun would prefer if he didn’t get stuck knee deep in mud trying to get home. 

“Well… I guess we’re stuck here for the night, Momo…” He whispered to himself, sighing as he laid the sloth down onto the leaves and removed his coat. 

The werewolf was slinking around the cave in a way that suggested he didn’t really know what to do with visitors, he just kept looking at Baekhyun then turning his back to him and rummaging through piles.

In some way, Baekhyun felt _bad_ for the werewolf - _where was his pack? Why was he here?_ It seemed obvious that the wolf had been here a long time, there were even old claw marks across the rocks from the wolf, as if he had been testing out his claw strength, they must have been years old, from when he was a pup.

“Wolf.” Baekhyun sighed, “Is it okay if we take your bed?” He asked reluctantly, bundling up Momo in his coat. 

It seemed the little sloth only _now_ decided he wanted to know what was happening because he blinked his groggy eyes at him once before sticking a long arm from the coat towards Baekhyun’s face. 

“You're about ten minutes too late for the adventure, Momo,” Baekhyun mumbled, accepting Momo’s three claws into his hand and pressing a kiss to the pup’s head, “I know, I love you too, even if you’re a bit of a hassle.” 

Momo wasn’t really that much of a hassle, but when the person taking care of him was _not_ used to taking care of something other than himself it felt like a lot of work.

(Not to mention Baekhyun had never nearly gotten sloth-napped by a bunch of monkeys.)

Baekhyun looked away from the sloth when Momo’s big, round eyes began to bob and he released a short squeak as he closed his eyes, but his attention was needed elsewhere anyways. 

The werewolf was sitting politely beside the bed with a big chunk of fur in his jaw.

Baekhyun took the fur made blanket offering as approval of his earlier question and accepted it with a short approving look, “Thank you.” 

But, the werewolf didn’t move. Instead, he laid his jaw on the side of the leaves and gave these big puppy eyes. 

“No way.” 

Ears went flat on the wolf’s head.

Baekhyun groaned and pulled Momo under his arm, “ _Fine!_ We can share the bed, but only because it’s raining, got it?” 

Baekhyun had no idea that werewolves could purr, but that was the only word he could use to describe the pleasant rumbling the wolf did when it climbed behind him and pressed his furry, warm side against his back.

_Fuck. He'd never signed up for a pet dog, and now this one was never going to leave him alone._

***

They stayed in the cave just until the rain cleared up.

The next morning Baekhyun had woken up to Momo’s squealing and nearly had a conniption, but he’d been pleasantly surprised to see it was happy squealing.

It should be frightening, and for a moment Baekhyun had been scared to see Momo having his claws locked inside the wolf’s mouth while dangling from it's jaw, but surprisingly, or _unsurprisingly,_ the werewolf had been gentle and was just letting the sloth try to climb around him.

Momo didn’t go very far, he didn’t really have the energy to stay awake that long because being a sloth was _very_ exhausting, but it was still cute to watch for a few minutes until Baekhyun asked the wolf to take them home.

Since then, about a week and a half ago, Baekhyun let the wolf come by a bit more.

He didn’t tell him to _shoo_ or push him off when he interrupted him when Baekhyun was doing things outside, and sometimes Baekhyun really wanted to because werewolves could pop out of _nowhere._

But witches weren’t all cold hearted - although Baekhyun’s colleagues used to say he _was_ one of those witches _-_ Baekhyun recognized that without the wolf Momo probably would have been stolen right out from under his nose, or they could have gotten caught up in a bad storm.

So he tried to be _nice._

It wasn’t that hard to be decent anymore. 

The wolf wasn’t being nearly as pushy or clingy as before. Most of the time he just plopped himself onto his belly and watched Baekhyun try to convince Momo to climb on something that wasn’t his bear (which was hard because the baby hated anything not soft).

Today was strange though. He hadn’t seen the wolf all day long, and on days they didn’t go outside Baekhyun normally saw the big, black furred wolf walk by to check things out and slink around his “yard” - not really his yard considering it was barely a small clearing, but it was close enough.

Baekhyun was busy hanging his laundry in the bathroom to dry - he'd learned not to hang it outside when a group of spider monkeys stole Momo’s blanket from the line - when he heard his sloth start up with his short, high pitched cries.

He sighed because he assumed Momo was getting worked up about his missing blanket.

Contrary to belief, his sloth was very observant and smart, and he’d been heart broken over the missing cloth for three days now.

“My dear, I told you I would buy you a new one when we went to the village next,” Baekhyun soothed, shutting the bathroom door behind him and stepping into the living area, he looked around for a moment and checked Momo’s basket that he napped in, but he was missing.

It wasn’t that hard to find him considering he was a blob of red fur and was so _loud._

The sloth was lying on his belly on the floor in front of the door, all limbs spread out and head raised to bring a paw up and trying to grab the doorknob.

“You are trying to leave now?” Baekhyun clicked his tongue and offered an arm to the sloth that was grabbed instantly, all four limbs wrapping around him. “Is this because daddy told you we were out of berries? I’ll find some for you soon, Momo. My little fluff ball.” 

Momo blinked slowly at him, one eyelid falling a bit behind so they weren’t in sync before the sloth squawked a single cry.

“Fine.” Baekhyun sighed, “Let’s go take a look around.” 

What he _hadn’t_ expected when he opened the front door was a man to be sitting on his porch. 

He had long, messy black hair that went down to his upper back and was shirtless. Only a pair of tan, torn bottoms on with his back to the door.

“Who are you and what are you doing on my porch? You have two seconds to answer before I throw snake venom at you.” Baekhyun stated, tone simple yet cold.

The man jumped up to his feet and Baekhyun’s brows furrowed when he met almond shaped _familiar_ eyes. The person was incredibly attractive with rounded cheeks and plump, red lips, but that was beside the point - Baekhyun would still dump a potion on him if needed. 

The sloth on his arm began to let go with his front arms and _slumped_ over towards the person with opened arms and a noise that sounded like a dog’s squeaky toy.

It was only then Baekhyun realized the eyes were familiar because they had a hint of _red_ when the sunlight hit them directly. Giving a nearly feral look to his eyes.

“It’s _you.”_ The witch raised his brows in surprise as he took in the werewolf, namely the muddy state of him and the flowers enclosed in dirt covered hands. 

Of course, this was a _wolf_ who lived in a cave - what did Baekhyun really expect? But at the same time he was a _werewolf_ which meant he had to spend time in the small, old village a few miles away at one point or another - how else would he have gotten his knives or clothing? 

“I was wondering where you were, Momo has been upset, cheer him up for me.” Baekhyun said simply, taking the sloth on his arm and shoving Momo into the wolf’s chest before stepping back towards the house, “If you're going to play, have him back before dark.” 

The wolf blinked wide eyes at him, the sloth now dangling at his neck and sniffling at the werewolf before he cleared his throat and held the flowers to Baekhyun. “Here.” 

Baekhyun’s brows shot _straight up_ at the deep voice of the werewolf, but at the same time he sort of expected it purely based on the deepness of his growl.

“Oh, great, I’ve been wanting something new for Momo to try for breakfast.” The witch hummed and accepted them.

“No, no! I mean… I mean, they’re for _you… um…_ my name is Chanyeol... _”_

Baekhyun pressed his lips together once he realized what the werewolf meant and denied to himself that his ears were turning red beneath his hair. He hummed with false calmness and stepped out of the doorway into the house, “Well, it looks like you have to play inside, the child is going to bed.” 

The witch sighed dramatically as he gave another look over the werewolf before he stepped out of the way, “You're filthy. If you come inside you have to take a bath.” 

“What’s a bath?” 

“Dear _lord.”_ Baekhyun cried, pointing a finger into the cabin, “Get in, but don’t touch a thing until I clean you up.” 

***

Giving a werewolf a bath was not on Baekhyun’s bucket list, and he’d made it clear he wanted the werewolf to take care of himself from now on, but there was something so… _strange_ about cleaning up a creature that was said to never before be domesticated.

But really Baekhyun could barely tell that the werewolf wasn’t human in this form.

A large, unkempt, and supernaturally attractive human, but still human. If he didn’t have the red, paw print looking birthmark on his hip, then he would have looked normal, but Baekhyun had a thought in the back of his mind that it wasn’t possible for humans to develop _this_ much muscular mass. 

Really, the werewolf was humongous but all slender muscle.

Baekhyun growled under his breath as he used a cloth to scrub at the werewolf’s nails, knelt at the side of the tub with Momo hanging on his neck, as usual, dreaming his little head off.

“You cannot drag mud into the cabin, do you understand me? It’s _naughty._ If Momo knows better then you know better.” 

The man dropped his head to his chest and gave wide, shining eyes, “Okay.” 

“And I don’t want you bringing in dead animals. That’s a _rule._ If you want to bring meat then it has to be outside until I come get it.” 

Chanyeol looked incredibly sad at that one, but Baekhyun wasn’t going to point out he'd caught the werewolf trying to kill an anteater in his yard just a few days ago. 

As a witch, he didn’t really need that much food, but the more _human_ part of him still enjoyed a good meal, so maybe he’d take the wolf up on his hunting skills one day. 

“Why do you smell like that? Um… um…” 

Baekhyun hadn’t realized until now he'd never even given the wolf his _name._ They’d been “playing” - aka Baekhyun acknowledged him - for a few weeks and yet he’d never mentioned it.

It always just felt weird to basically be talking to himself seeing as the werewolf was all grunts and dog-like actions he didn’t understand. 

“I’m a 437 year old witch from the Byun family. My name is Byun Baekhyun.” Baekhyun murmured as he pulled away from the tub to grab a towel off the counter, “My scent is very strong to creatures like you.” 

He gave a slight shrug and lifted his chin to look away, “Stand up and dry off, put on the clothes that are on the counter and then you can come out.” 

The witch then turned to scurry off, unsure why his cheeks felt ablaze when he’d _seen_ a man's body before. 

Baekhyun had his years of endless lovers, both male and female, but perhaps it’d been too long since he’d taken a lover because the mere sight of Chanyeol's rippled stomach sent his stomach twisting.

He cleared his throat and took a spot on the couch to remove Momo from his neck and snuggle the sloth in his lap until a thought occurred to him.

He really needed to do something about the mess on Chanyeol’s head. 

Baekhyun placed Momo against the couch and put a pillow between his arms for comfort and jumped up to the kitchen to dig for scissors.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol shuffled from the bathroom _again_ shirtless, but at least he had pajama bottoms on. “This thing doesn't fit.” 

“That’s okay, take a seat on the floor and let me do something about your hair.” 

For a wild wolf, Chanyeol listened really well. He plopped himself down on the wood floor with wide eyes and looked around the living room as if it was _magical._

Ironic given he lived in a magic enhanced forest and was amazed by a few lights and shelves.

“What’s that thing?”

Baekhyun hummed and began to chop a good amount of hair off starting an inch or so at the wolf’s back, “I was trying to build Momo something to play on, but… you see… witches are less hands on creatures. Hell, if I were my mother I would just put a potion in a man's drink and have him do all the hard work.” 

_“Oh.”_ Chanyeol mumbled, shuffling a bit when Baekhyun combed the strands down in order to cut them, “I can make a tree.” 

“You can make a tree?” Baekhyun laughed, “Are you sure about that? You don’t even know what a hammer is.” 

“I…. I can make it.” The wolf nodded to himself with a slight pout to his voice, “I used to make things and sell them in the village.” 

“That’s very resilient.” 

“What’s that mean?”

Baekhyun sighed, which seemed to be becoming a normal thing for him, “Nevermind that. If you want to try to make him something to climb on you can. I’m sure he’d be very happy.” 

The werewolf perked up with a toothy smile and nod before reaching up to feel his hair before frowning. “Baekhyun. Can you not cut it too short?” 

“Why not? I think you’d look quite charming with it short,” The witch frowned.

“My…” Chanyeol ducked his head to look down at his now clean nails before whispering, “My ears are big… in this form…” 

Baekhyun restrained a laugh, but it seemed obvious to him that a werewolf would have abnormally sized ears seeing as their hearing was so good, but his curiosity got the best of him and he pulled back the wolf’s hair to look. 

They were big, but not overly so. 

It was pretty endearing that a _werewolf_ \- a creature said to be vicious and would tear people apart if they got close - cared about his _ears._

“You're just a big puppy, aren't you?” 

Chanyeol looked at him like he would begin to wag if he were in wolf form.

***

“Is it yummy? Yum yum, eat up my little one. If you eat it all up then your daddy will find you berries soon,” Baekhyun cooed, scratching Momo’s belly.

The sloth was busy drinking milk until his tummy was rock hard. Baekhyun tried to bottle feed him powdered goat's milk at least once a week because it was high in minerals and that was what was recommended to him for the sloth.

But today Baekhyun had snuck a little bit of a health concoction into his drink and the sloth seemed to like the milk even _more_ than normal due to the fruitiness to the potion.

Baekhyun tried not to interfere too much with his sloth's growth, but a worried parent would sneak in some minerals and vitals if they could _too,_ so a few health potions would be okay.

_“How come he’s drinking that?”_

Baekhyun jumped when the front door opened, blushing at being caught cooing at the sloth, but who was he _kidding?_ He cooed at Momo too much for it to be a secret that he loved the sloth to pieces.

Momo was just a very good boy. Even when he screamed at night because he wanted to play during his few hours of consciousness.

“How come you're not wearing the shirt I found for you? You never wear a top.” Baekhyun shot back, pouting a small bit as he leaned down to press his nose against Momo’s head.

For the past week the wolf had been coming back and forth from here and his cave - usually just slamming the door open because he didn’t know what knocking was when Baekhyun asked him to do such - but the climbing tree was _way_ better than what Baekhyun could have done himself.

Maybe werewolves _were_ more skilled than he'd thought. 

“I get hot.” Chanyeol said simply, walking over to the partially completed wooden branches that were in the corner.

Baekhyun originally just wanted a small, replica tree, but he hadn’t commented on Chanyeol making one as tall as the roof because Momo would like that, so the branches were long and wide, expanding up to the top of the ceiling.

It looked pretty nice actually, Momo had his own play area. Well, he would when it was done.

“Momo has to have milk every once in a while because he’s a baby.” Baekhyun belatedly answered.

“Oh….” 

Baekhyun snickered at the wolf’s awkwardness and pulled his slacks over his foot. Normally he dressed more appropriately when Chanyeol came barging in, making sure he was covered head to toe, but the werewolf barged in so much it was nearly impossible for him to have time to dress up. 

It was strange for him to wear just a silk top with slacks, in the olden days Baekhyun would seem dressed inappropriately, so it was a habit to dress up at this point. 

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol tumbled abruptly, taking a seat on the floor and using his nail to carve at a piece of wood despite there being tools set up for him. “Why would you take in an animal? I don’t mean to seem rude… I’m wondering.”

The witch hummed and looked down at his lap when there was a bubbly noise that sounded from the bottle and he found Momo had stopped drinking in favor of snoring the evening away. 

“Well, if I didn’t take him in he would have died,” Baekhyun explained, bundling up the sloth like a baby in his blanket to rock him. “They are endangered.” 

“What does that mean? _Endanger?”_

Chanyeol's nose scrunched up in a curious way and his big, round puppy eyes looked up at him as if he had the answers to everything. 

“It means they’re at risk of all going extinct. Dying. It happens when humans find animals they are interested in, they hunt them to death.” 

The werewolf’s entire jaw _dropped,_ “But… but why would they do that? There’s no meat on those things and.. so... _why?”_

Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably and laid his cheek against his palm to look at him. “Humans do incredibly destructive things, Chanyeol. They have no bounds. They have no morals. It’s one of the reasons I left. Their ignorance is too grand… it physically pains me to be around such unintelligence.” 

“Um…” Chanyeol looked a little sad as he looked at his lap and fiddled with his fingers, “Is it annoying I ask so much then? I’m not a very smart person…” 

The witch furrowed his brows, an unknown rush of pity rushing through him as he climbed to his feet to enter the kitchen, “You are a werewolf. I don’t expect you to know a lot, but I used to be a teacher and don’t mind explaining things to you. If you are curious for a good reason, then I don’t mind explaining. You aren’t unintelligent, wolf, you’re simply… not aware _.”_

“Is it because I don’t go to the village much? If I go to the village, will I get smarter?”

“No, you don’t need to spend time with humans to gain knowledge.” 

Chanyeol jumped up to lean over the counter and watch Baekhyun dig through cabinets, “I think I could be smarter if my pack hadn’t left me here.” 

Baekhyun froze. He swallowed hard and placed his pot on the counter.

He’d wondered why Chanyeol was here. He was a _werewolf_ in the middle of a rainforest, it made no sense. But it didn’t feel okay to ask.

Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind telling him though, he didn’t sound sad or upset, so Baekhyun replied, “Is that right? What happened?”

“Well, I think it was an accident…” The werewolf mumbled, “When I was a cub I went running off where I wasn’t supposed to and I got lost. I knew we were moving on by daylight, but I didn’t get back in time… it’s been… a lot of years now.” 

“How many?”

“Um,” Chanyeol shuffled and scrunched his face up in thought, “Maybe ten years? I was a teen when that happened, luckily I knew some things already, and when I went to the village the humans usually gave me food, I think they thought I was homeless!” 

Baekhyun chuckled when the wolf began to laugh, but he didn’t point out that he sort of _had_ been homeless, and in the eyes of humans they likely just saw a boy wandering about aimlessly.

The thought that Chanyeol was so _lonely_ yet didn’t even act like it made him feel even more pity for the werewolf. 

“Do you like stew?” Baekhyun asked quietly. “If you go find some meat, I can make us a stew.” 

Chanyeol's brows perked up, “I have some in my cave! I’ll be back!” 

***

Baekhyun expected Chanyeol to annoy him after a while, because the werewolf asked a lot of questions and he was very invasive, but he _didn’t._

If anything, it was growing easier to get used to him barging in. 

But the witch had noticed Chanyeol was putting off on adding the last few touches to the climbing tree in his cabin, and figured it was obvious that the wolf realized if he finished then he had no reason to come around anymore. 

That wasn’t true though, because Momo would be _screeching_ if he didn’t have the wolf to play with every once in a while.

Chanyeol had much more energy than Baekhyun, and he put up with a lot more than the witch did. Especially because Momo had been learning about his claws lately and liked to dig them into his skin.

For Baekhyun the claws hurt just like they would to a human, but Chanyeol never flinched when the sloth grabbed him a little hard and swung from his arms, he just continued what he was doing as if he was used to Momo’s antics.

Maybe he _was_ growing used to the sloth’s antics because more often than not Chanyeol snuck around the cabin. 

But the werewolf was such a big help Baekhyun didn’t comment on it, instead he just put him to more work.

In this case, the work was cleaning up Momo seeing as the sloth had little to no self control around berries.

The small, red puffball was now a matted, purple color, yet Momo kept squealing like he was completely unphased that he nearly had berry juice in his eyes and it was running down his chest. 

This is probably what Baekhyun deserved for not hand feeding him the berries, because as soon as he’d placed the baby sloth on a towel and gave him the bowel Momo had flipped it over with a shrill scream of excitement.

Well, at least he no longer owed the sloth berries, they’d be a treat for rare occasions seeing as he was a complete _mess._

Baekhyun despited messes.

“Oh my lord. Please scrub him up quickly,” Baekhyun cried, rubbing his eyes, “Ugh. You’re a filthy sloth. _Messy messy.”_ The witch scolded, pointing a finger at Momo as Chanyeol brought the sloth to a bucket of water Baekhyun readied and had warmed over the fire. 

The sloth yawned and tried to reach a paw out for him, but Baekhyun shivered to himself at the thought of being soaked in berries and dodged it in favor of digging for the sloth bath supplies.

Momo never quite minded bath time, he just squeaked his little head off and held conversations until he knocked out looking even smaller than normal with his fur matted down onto his little body.

“I think his kind don't normally clean themselves,” Chanyeol mumbled, “They just hang out in the treetops. I once saw a jaguar snatch one right off the ground, so they don’t really come down much anymore.” 

Baekhyun froze for a moment, bypassing the werewolf to take a seat on the opposite side of the bucket and shushing Momo when he startled with a squeal and hung his arms over the side of the container. “Oh _hush_ you naughty sloth. You brought this on yourself.” 

Momo cried at him in reply and began to smack long arms along the metal bucket as Baekhyun took out a toothbrush and soap to scrub his body. 

“Does that hurt him?” The werewolf wondered, “It hurt when you made me use one.” 

Baekhyun snickered, lifting up the sloth’s arms and giving a good scrub to the baby’s belly. “It doesn’t hurt him, also that was not a toothbrush, it was a hairbrush I made you use, and it was only because you had a nest resting on your head.” 

“But I had no birds on my head, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol scrunched up his nose in confusion.

The witch didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh because he had no idea how to explain simple jokes to a werewolf. 

Baekhyun opted to change the subject. “So you’ve seen sloths before?”

“Yes, they run along the treetops at night… well, they don’t run, they just sort of… _hang_ and squeal. They aren’t as loud as the monkeys though, so I’m not too bothered by them.” 

“Hm, I’ve been thinking of trying to find some sloths and seeing if they would let Momo play with them. Male sloths are more solitary than females, but Momo is not exactly learning how to _sloth_ here. Of course I don’t mean I would leave him outside, but for an hour or so it would be nice if he played with others.” 

“I can find some for you.” 

Baekhyun’s brows raised a small bit as he rubbed the crusty fur beside the sloth’s mouth with his thumbs, holding up the tiny head that was now slumped over and getting sleepy eyed at the massage. “You can?” 

The werewolf tucked his limbs together in a ball and gave a look at him before his eyes were shooting to look at his lap nervously, “I go in the trees a lot for vines, I can look around…” 

“That,” Baekhyun clicked his tongue and pulled the sloth from his bath and into a towel in his lap, “Would be amazing, Chanyeol.” 

The wolf kept his gaze down on his lap while Baekhyun dried around the sloth’s face, earning a few irritated whines from the sleepy baby for keeping him up, but then Chanyeol’s head shot up at record speed and he was jumping up to his feet.

Momo, angry with Baekhyun for not letting him sleep peacefully, tried to squeak after him with an arm slowly raising, but it went unnoticed by the werewolf.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, _did_ notice and pressed his lips together.

“I should finish this,” The werewolf murmured, approaching the corner of the room.

There was something about the wolf’s demeanor that suddenly seemed _off,_ and Baekhyun wasn’t a mind reader - that skill went to djinns - but he had learned how to read people pretty well in all his years.

Well, werewolves didn’t exactly express things like he was used to, they didn’t really express much in human form other than big smiles and curious eyes, but he knew why Chanyeol was looking strangely put off.

He would be a liar if he said he wanted to kick the werewolf out instantly after completing the climbing tree. Because Momo liked him, of course. _Momo_ would be lonely if the werewolf stopped visiting.

Baekhyun swallowed at the thought and stood up with his sloth in arm to walk across the room, taking the sleepy sloth and laying him on Chanyeol’s back.

The werewolf didn’t jolt or show any shock, he had heard Baekhyun coming over, and more often than not Momo liked to “sneak” - not really sneaky considering he moved like a snail - attack him to play with. 

“I’m going down into the basement to make a few protection spells to put around the porch.” 

“Why?” 

“Well, it would be a shame if say… a predator takes a spot in front of my door and locks me in for two days.” 

Chanyeol's face turned bright red, but Baekhyun ignored it in favor of humming to himself as he kicked away the rug and pulled up the latch to the basement that was on the floor just beside the fireplace. 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun said as he climbed down the first few steps. 

“I’ll watch him.” The werewolf assumed he was going to request such seeing as Baekhyun was a very paranoid being.

“We’re going to the village next week, wear clothes please.”

“Oh..” Chanyeol shifted to look up at him with shock in his eyes, “Okay…” 

“And Chanyeol,” The witch blurted, fiddling with the edge of his silk sleeve, “Once you finish, you don’t need to leave.” 

“What? Really?” The werewolf’s face spread with a grin, “Thank you! But… but why suddenly…” 

_“Momo_ would be heartbroken and lonely.” Baekhyun said firmly, clearing his throat.

Chanyeol's expression dulled only the slightest bit before he nodded with a closed mouth smile, one unlike the wolf, “Yeah… yeah… _Momo_ would miss me.” 

Baekhyun turned to dart down into the basement steps leaving the wooden hatch in the floor to slam shut behind him. 

***

The village was more friendly than Baekhyun recalled when he was young, but that also likely had to do with the fact that he _radiated_ wealth, and when he was a young boy he’d always been told to leave the market because they thought his family were thieves.

Granted, it had been over four hundred years, and his family had looked quite poor, but that didn’t mean Baekhyun forgot such ridicule.

Having market workers stare at him and try to call for him to come see their produce, beads, crafts, and other items made him feel powerful.

Only with Chanyeol nervously slumped at his side that put a damper on things a bit.

The werewolf was uncomfortable with wearing so much clothing, but Baekhyun wouldn’t have him running amok through the village shoeless and wearing only bottoms. He’d get all sorts of judgemental and off putting looks.

Even if Chanyeol didn’t understand such things as _public_ _image,_ Baekhyun very much wouldn’t stand to see disgust in people’s faces when they looked in their direction.

The witch took pity on Chanyeol after about an hour or two at the market when the werewolf began to overheat from the large robe Baekhyun had shoved on him.

Momo wasn’t happy about being moved into the inside of Baekhyun’s cloak pocket because he preferred the dark, perfect napping environment he got from the inside of Chanyeol’s, but he made due by placing his jaw on the edge of Baekhyun’s and looking around with round, curious eyes.

Baekhyun wasn’t worried about onlookers noticing the teeny sloth eyes peering from the breast pocket of his cloak, he’d just curse them should they even suggest buying the spoiled sloth.

“Two beers.” Baekhyun ordered as he pushed open the wooden door of a bar, getting the strangest of looks from the bartender for demanding as soon as he stepped through the door, but they took one look at him and raced to get on his order.

The witch tossed his bag of groceries onto the creaky table and sent Chanyeol raised brows when the wolf awkwardly stood beside the table. 

“Sit. You’re human right now.” 

“Humans stink like iron,” Chanyeol said in disgust, with such offense in his tone Baekhyun had to snort.

“Hm, in the same way you said you could track fairies because they smelled like sap?” 

The werewolf grumbled as his ears reddened, because Baekhyun was non stop teasing him today for all the ranting he’d done on the walk down to the village. 

Chanyeol had grumbled and grumbled about how he could just race them down, but Baekhyun knew it would be a shit show if he brought a wolf into a village of hunters. 

It didn’t matter if Chanyeol was strong, werewolves weren’t immortal or immune to hunters.

They’d likely pay for someone to give them a ride back up the mountain to shave off a few miles because it was awfully dark out, hence why their nocturnal little friend was wide awake and reaching out of Baekhyun’s pocket for the snacks he _knew_ the witch got him.

“Goodness gracious,” Baekhyun shook his head fondly and gave Momo a pat on his head as he chose a snack for him from his many options. 

Giving a shrill yip of excitement, Momo started up an excited wiggly arm dance as Baekhyun pulled flowers out for him to snack on. 

They _were_ for potions, but with how little sloth’s ate, Momo having a few wouldn’t do much harm. 

Abruptly, a rumbling came from across the table and Baekhyun’s head snapped up to see Chanyeol staring over his shoulder with his lip raised the smallest bit and growling lowly.

The witch spun around with a finger raised and pointing at the table to face a worker with their drinks who was staring at Momo. 

“Put the drinks down and go. The sloth is not for sale.” Baekhyun ordered as he pulled out a couple of coins and tossed them onto the table. “Leave, human.” 

The man looked incredibly confused at the _human_ comment, but was far more interested in the money - as humans tended to be - and grabbed the coins to scurry off.

A three clawed paw was flying up into his face before Baekhyun could get irritated and Momo was flinging a small, yellow flower in his face.

“Oh!” Baekhyun laughed and plucked the plant from his claws before his long limb decided to be lazy and fall over, “A flower? For me? _Thank you,_ my love. What a good boy. My sweet boy.” The witch leaned over to nuzzle Momo's soft pink nose. “Yes. Daddy loves you, baby sloth.” 

Suddenly Chanyeol began to cough up a storm and Baekhyun nearly thought the werewolf was about to cough his lungs out when he saw he was shoving his beer away with an upturned nose and wide, disgusted eyes.

“Too strong for you, wolf?” Baekhyun snickered, gently tucking the flower back into the pile on the table for Momo to munch up.

“It’s mainly the _smell.”_ Chanyeol gagged, “The taste is bad because of the smell, what _is_ that?”

“Beer is made of yeast, it’s not supposed to smell good. It’s supposed to get you drunk.” 

“Like… intoxicated? Like when humans stumble around?”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun snorted into his own beer at the comparison. “It goes to their head and controls their actions. But, normally people drink them on dates or when they want to learn more about someone else.”

Chanyeol was reaching back for his drink then, with interested eyes. “Humans are strange.” 

At least they could agree to that. Humans were never the most intelligent creatures. It seemed strange to voluntarily drink something harmful to their health.

That would be like if a mermaid climbed itself up on land - it wouldn’t hurt immediately, but after a prolonged time it would. It would dry out like a human's organs would shut down.

The thought reminded Baekhyun of something he’d been meaning to ask the werewolf. “Chanyeol, do you think you could track down an old elf home for me? I need elf bones for the protection spell. I figured with your sensitive nose you could sniff out an old shrine.” 

Chanyeol looked vaguely disgusted with the comment, or thought of digging up graves that would only be the size of their palms, but Baekhyun was used to such looks and stared with his palms under his chin, awaiting.

 _Hey,_ there was a reason witches were seen as satanic after all - while that wasn’t exactly the truth, they _did_ use bones and other limbs for their magical properties. 

“Um…” Chanyeol shifted in his spot, “I can try, but… but I might instead come across fairies or even sprites instead…”

“Fairies, elves, and sprites smell the same to you?” 

“Things like us smell like sap.” 

“Witches smell like sap too?” Baekhyun wanted to laugh, because such a thing sounded silly. A creature like him smelling so sweet? 

“Well, not exactly.” 

“Oh, what do you mean by _not exactly?”_

The werewolf glanced at him before giving a shake of his head, grabbing the coat from his lap, and reaching across the table to place it over a sprawled out and lazy eyed Momo.

The sloth was up and moving about, lazily stretching his limbs across the table top, but he wasn’t really going anywhere when he had a stash of snacks and people he liked around.

“Come on.” Baekhyun prompted, “I’m curious. I’ve never met a werewolf you know. Been alive this long and never caught sight of one.” 

Chanyeol ducked his head but peered at him through his jaw length hair, “Really?”

“Who do you take me for? A liar?” The witch teased, “It’s true I've never seen a werewolf prior to you, _wolf.”_

Baekhyun stopped himself short for a moment when he realized that the way the _wolf_ fell from his mouth sounded less like a tease, and more…. he shook the thought off and instead watched the werewolf grab Momo when the sloth gave him needy eyes and his famous clingy _hold me_ arms.

For a moment, he had a thought wondering how funny Momo would look when he got big and clung on Chanyeol’s neck like he did now.

Would the sloth tuck his back claws into the collar of his shirt with arms holding his neck like he did now? 

Or would he be too big and have to latch his long legs around Chanyeol's waist? 

Would the werewolf even be around long enough for Momo to get bigger? 

Baekhyun swallowed and reached out for his beer to down quickly. 

There was no way he was actually feeling _distraught_ over such a thought, right? No way. It wasn’t possible, was it? 

_Fuck._

“Just _you_ don’t smell like sap.” Chanyeol said, his entire palm covering the sloth’s back as Momo began to mumble his little hums, which meant soft squeaks. 

“I mean...” The werewolf added quickly, “I’ve never smelled a witch before, but… yeah, everything else I’ve ever smelled is sap, but you… don’t. Not really at all.” 

Baekhyun’s brows shot up and he smirked a bit, “Ah, it’s probably because my magic is very strong. That, or it’s the scent of my evilness coming through.” 

Chanyeol seemed to understand it was, indeed, a joke because the werewolf laughed this wide smile, dimpled laugh. 

In all actuality Baekhyun did consider himself _not_ a good person - or a kind witch for that matter, if there were such a thing as a kind witch. He didn’t use his magic for good. He didn’t give people spells or potions for free. And back in the olden times he'd done some incredibly cruel things to people who slighted him.

“No…” Chanyeol whispered, “You smell like… spices and… it's really different than everyone else, it’s why I went to the cabin. I was curious.” 

Baekhyun felt an odd sensation at the information, but was confused whether or not the different scent _mattered,_ “Do you know why it-“

The door to the bar swung open and a drunk, loud group of people came wobbling their way in. It made Baekhyun sigh at the interruption, but he knew it was best to get out of here before bar fights happened.

“Come on, puppy dog,” Baekhyun muttered as he collected their bags. “Let’s get back home.” 

“What’s a puppy?” Chanyeol wondered with big, round eyes that matched Momo’s when they both looked at Baekhyun. 

The witch didn’t know why his stomach began to get warm, but he chalked it up to the alcohol.

(Although he couldn’t explain his blush. That wasn’t normal even when he was _completely_ drunk.) 

***

“I feel nearly nude!” Baekhyun screamed as Chanyeol pulled him out of the cabin. 

It was strange for him to be seen without being dressed head to toe in long sleeves and slacks, but considering it was the middle of the night and he’d been in bed with a sloth climbing all over him begging for snuggles, he was only in a silk nightgown.

It was inappropriate, but Chanyeol was a literal wolf animal and couldn’t give two cares what he was wearing, he’d stormed in despite it being past midnight to drag him from bed.

Werewolves didn’t sleep much, so sometimes the werewolf came storming past the protective barrier to quietly come play with Momo while he slept seeing as the sloth was nocturnal and recently had a habit of grabbing handfuls of Baekhyun’s hair when he tried to rest. 

Chanyeol didn’t ever yank him around like _this_ though. In fact, they barely ever even touched in general other than passing Momo back and forth and skin brushing unintentionally.

Something about their skin touching made Baekhyun’s stomach twist and _burn_ but he alway assumed it was due to the fact that it was rare for him to have contact with anyone in general.

Physical contact just wasn’t really something witches felt the _need_ for, but the swirling in his stomach felt an awful lot like need.

“Wolf!” Baekhyun barked, “It’s chilly out here! I can’t see in the dark like you!”

It was nearly creepy the way Chanyeol's eyes had a tint of red that reflected from them in the dark, it was even stronger than Momo’s soft, glow like glint, and ten times more predatory looking seeing as the almond shape of his eyes gave him a sharp look.

“I’ve found sloths!” 

The witch gasped, clutching Chanyeol’s wrist that was locked in his sleeve in order to step over a tree, “No way?” 

As if reiterating surprise, Momo’s clinging arms wrapped around Baekhyun’s forehead and he began to release his own shrieks. 

“You don’t even know what another sloth is,” Baekhyun laughed, reaching up to pluck the sloth off his head before he got a little claw right in the eye. “Are you excited because your father is excited? Are you going to play nicely?” 

Momo just took to hanging on his forearm with all four limbs and a squeak.

“They're up at the top.” Chanyeol commented, coming close enough to the witch that Baekhyun could make out his face, “I have to take him up there. But I’ll be careful with him.” 

At the thought of Momo going up into the top of the tree, Baekhyun faltered and pressed his lips flat, but the werewolf didn’t seem to notice his nerves and was taking the little sloth from him.

 _“Wait!”_ Baekhyun cried before Chanyeol could immediately take off. “Just… just make sure you remember where you left him…” 

“It’s kind of difficult to mistake Momo for one of these ones,” Chanyeol laughed, “They're all big. Didn’t you say adult sloths will accept him? I’ll just drop him off and get him when you want him back.” 

Baekhyun shuffled and nodded because he _did_ say that. Sloths were easygoing with young ones, and now that Momo was healthy, squeaking his head off, and weighing in at a good few pounds there was no reason they would reject him.

The witch shuffled in place, crossing his arms over his stomach and blindly staring up at the canopy.

He could hear the crackling of Chanyeol climbing up, but just _barely_ seeing as the wolf really was a predator and climbing trees was just an everyday event for him. 

Baekhyun sighed and worriedly bit his lip as he took a seat on the grass and swatted at a few bugs. 

Within a couple of moments of waiting he heard a loud bunch of squeaking from the trees. It was strange hearing the noises come from other sloths that weren’t _just_ Momo. 

“One of them let him on their front!” 

Baekhyun jolted when abruptly there was a shift in the grass near him and Chanyeol was taking a seat in front of him, bare chested and all with this huge, dimpled smile. 

“I watched for a second,” Chanyeol laughed, “And then Momo made a noise then the tan one did, they just started talking like that and Momo climbed right over, I think they're friends now.” 

_Momo had friends._

Just the thought made Baekhyun’s smile light up his face yet his eyes glossed over a bit. It felt… sad, but good.

It made him wonder: What if Momo didn’t want to come back down to him? Or what if the sloth wanted nothing to do with them anymore? Would he be happier with other sloths? 

“Momo is so friendly!” The werewolf cried with a breathy chuckle as he picked at the grass in front of him, “I know sloths aren't very social, but he’ll learn to climb better out here!” 

_He’s also vulnerable to predators out here,_ Baekhyun internally sulked, swallowing his pessimistic thoughts so he didn’t have to ruin Chanyeol’s excitement.

He was excited too. Really. And he was incredibly grateful, and also _scared._

The truth was Baekhyun didn’t want to be alone again if Momo decided he wanted to live up in the canopy instead of the cabin where he was bottle fed and babied.

He understood that Momo was supposed to be a wild animal and that he may prefer it here, but Momo had also _only_ ever been raised by people, he wouldn’t stand a chance against predators - not that many sloths really did anyway.

Baekhyun wanted him to be happy, but a small part of him was selfish and wanted Momo to want him more.

Maybe he was just overthinking things. 

“Chanyeol, can jaguars get up in the trees?” 

“I never see sloths get hurt up in the trees, it’s when they come down on the ground when predators come after them.” 

Baekhyun nodded stiffly before clearing his throat, “I really appreciate you doing this, it’s very nice of you. Momo needed some playmates.”

“Oh.. it’s no big deal, I just noticed when I was getting water from the stream…” 

The witch tsked, “I thought I told you to use the well, you’re going to get a parasite from that water. Just use the well, puppy dog.” 

Chanyeol pouted, “How come you won’t tell me what that is?” 

Baekhyun burst into laughter and shook his head in amusement as he tugged his gown past his knees, “It’s a baby dog.” 

“I didn’t know there was another name for them,” Chanyeol wondered as he scrunched up his nose, “I’m not a dog, I don’t even bark.” 

_Lies._ Baekhyun caught him doing this deep bark in wolf form all the time when Momo wanted to play.

“Whatever you say, pup.” 

“I’m _not_ a baby dog.” 

“Of course not, you only have all the tendencies _and_ the eyes of a puppy.” Baekhyun teased, pressing his finger to his chin in false thought. “If I get you a collar and make you sleep at the end of my bed, you’ll be the perfect house pet.” 

Chanyeol growled and was lunging over at him making Baekhyun burst with giggles because he’d never been on the receiving end of the wolf’s playfulness. 

He’d seen Chanyeol lunge at Momo before when the sloth tugged his tail too hard and Momo found it incredibly funny, that or he just liked attention - which was probably a factor. 

“My gown! Chanyeol, it’s filthy!” Baekhyun yelled as he was thrown in the grass, “Disgusting! You filthy wolf-“ He cut himself off when he recognized the feeling of breathing against his throat.

A small part of him had the thought to recognize he was voluntarily allowing a werewolf to sniff at his throat, where it could get ripped right open any second.

But the bigger part of him laughed, “Are you sniffing me?” He snorted, pushing the werewolf’s shoulder in amusement, “Are you going to eat me? I’ll come back and curse you with fleas, pup.” 

“You don’t have enough meat for me to eat.” 

Baekhyun’s eyes went wide as he laughed, it was rare Chanyeol actually understood a joke he made _and_ made one back. 

It was so _cute._

“What a shame,” Baekhyun huffed, feeling the dampness of the grass seeping through his gown.

It previously hadn’t occurred to him that he had a werewolf hovering over him on all fours, he’d been more interested in teasing, but when he realized was the exact moment Chanyeol was staring _right_ at him only a few centimeters away with these red, sharp eyes.

He seemed like he didn’t have a concept of personal space - Baekhyun supposed the werewolf probably didn’t - because Chanyeol didn’t flinch away or do so much as apologize.

“You have a mark on your nose, does it hurt?” 

Baekhyun felt his heart pick up pace and swallowed, “It’s a freckle. They're also called beauty marks, it’s not an injury.” 

Chanyeol's brows pulled together like such a thing confused him and his eyes shot around Baekhyun’s face a few more times.

But the witch was unable to hold back. He was full of gratitude and playfulness - something he hadn’t felt in _years._

Baekhyun normally wouldn’t misbehave like this, but the way his heart was racing called for only one sort of response from him, one he was familiar with, but hadn’t done in at least three decades. 

Baekhyun leaned forward to remove Chanyeol's long hair from one cheek in order to rest his palm there before straining his neck upwards to place his lips utop of Chanyeol's.

He realized it was a lapse in judgement when the werewolf made a confused noise, scaring Baekhyun into pulling back without noticing that Chanyeol was leaning down to meet him.

The witch swallowed and stared at red eyes for a second, hand still resting against Chanyeol's cheek. “I must be losing my mind, this isn’t like -“

“What’s that?” Chanyeol blurted with a furrowed brow. 

Baekhyun opened his mouth to reply and didn’t know whether the sigh he released was amused or relieved. “It’s a kiss. You don’t know what that is?”

“Wolves don’t do that. What’s it for?”

The witch laughed this time, using his palm that lay against his cheek to swipe his messily strewn locks behind his ear, “It’s only a kiss.” 

“But why do people do it?” Chanyeol wondered with his eyes flickering over Baekhyun’s face before, abruptly, he leaned closer, “Can you do that again?”

Baekhyun cupped the back of his head to press a kiss just beside the werewolf’s lips with a laugh once he noticed the dismayed look on Chanyeol’s face, as if the wolf was ready to say, _that’s not the same._

But before he could there was rustling from the trees near Baekhyun’s head and Chanyeol’s lips were pulling up as he shifted into a threatening position with his chest over the witch’s head protectively.

It lasted only a few seconds before the wolf settled down and Baekhyun gripped his forearms when Chanyeol pulled him to sit up. “What is it?”

A lopsided smile took over Chanyeol’s face as he pointed vaguely into the darkness, “Momo brought a friend.” 

Sure enough, four eyes could be vaguely seen glinting from the base of the tree. The smaller ones squished against the trunk and large ones over its shoulder protectively.

Baekhyun wondered if the bigger one was holding Momo like that because they knew he was only a baby. 

“Momo, did you bring your friend to come see us?” Baekhyun smiled brightly, curling his hand around Chanyeol's wrist, “Come over here, dear.” 

He was met with an excited shriek and the sound of claws dragging down the bark of the tree.

The witch looked at Chanyeol with a big grin, because Momo wouldn’t forget about them after all.

***

“Drink this.” Baekhyun ordered, carrying a mini cauldron up the stairs still steaming.

The werewolf had a gash on his face from climbing a tree for the fruit growing up top; Baekhyun knew the fruit was just a nice snack for Momo, so he felt a bit guilty.

It had also been such a long time since he’d personally felt pain. At this point the witch felt immune to such things and had only been able to imagine how much it must hurt.

“Momo won’t stop hanging upside down and staring at me.” Chanyeol commented, sighing and taking the bucket sized cauldron into just one hand as if it weighed nothing. 

Baekhyun snickered and brushed strands of his long hair from the wound as he peeked at said curious sloth in the corner. 

Sure enough Momo was holding one of the branches in his climbing tree with back limb and gnawing on a raspberry with wide eyes watching them. 

“He’s worried,” The witch laughed, laying a hand to Chanyeol’s head and scratching gently at his scalp, “His pet wolf is injured, of course he’s worried.”

Chanyeol huffed at that, pinching Baekhyun’s calf with a pout and grumbled, _he’s my pet, I’m not the pet…_

Snickering, Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “Just drink up you brooding wolf.”

The witch took his place beside the wolf on the rug beside the fireplace, sitting on his knees in order to grab the tray on top of the mantle and grabbing a handful of leaves doused in fire potion into the fireplace. 

Baekhyun hummed to himself and gave one snap of his fingers before the fireplace lit up with a fire and Chanyeol jolted back with wide eyes.

“What?” Baekhyun blinked innocently and warmed his hands by the fire, “I’m a witch.” 

“It’s creepy.” 

Baekhyun smiled brightly as if such a thing was a compliment.

“Weird,” Chanyeol mumbled, setting the cauldron onto the floor with a loud _clunk_ seeing as it was solid cast iron and _heavy._

“Let me see,” Baekhyun demanded and yanked the werewolf’s chin so he’d look at him, petting his thumb just below the gash on his cheekbone, watching approvingly as it healed itself. 

There would be a small line across Chanyeol’s cheek for a bit, but by tonight it would be long faded.

“Baekhyun?”

The witch jolted when the hand on Chanyeol’s chin was grasped and removed from the wolf’s skin.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can always just start out with the question you intend to ask,” Baekhyun laughed and pinched Chanyeol’s cheek before spinning on his knees for his book that rested on the couch.

Only the werewolf didn’t release his hand and Baekhyun was confused at that.

“That means you can ask your question, pup,” The witch rephrased, reaching out to pet strands out of Chanyeol's face, “Go ahead.” 

The werewolf looked confused, his nose scrunched up and gave a little crinkle as he released the witch and put hands in his lap to mess with his torn bottoms.

Baekhyun always gave him stacks of clothes to take back with him when he came, but still Chanyeol always went with his old, torn pants. Baekhyun didn’t mind it as much as he pretended to when he scolded the werewolf over it.

“Can I stay here sometimes?”

“What?” Baekhyun frowned, “Like overnight? I don’t mind. You stay here most of the time playing with Momo anyway.” 

Chanyeol's lips pressed together as he nodded to himself and Baekhyun nearly laughed at his red tipped ears as he grabbed one of the wolf’s hands in both of his for his attention. 

“But that’s not what you wanted to ask, was it?” Baekhyun asked gently.

“Um..” 

“Ah, don’t do that mumbling thing, that is only for insecure humans,” Baekhyun tsked and laid his pointer finger beneath Chanyeol's chin to raise his head, “And you are no human, correct? We are much stronger than humans and have no need to adopt their insecurities.” 

Chanyeol's eyes flickered nervously, but he nodded and discreetly chewed on his cheek before shifting to sit up straight. “I was thinking.” 

“Mhm,” Baekhyun prompted, giving his cheek a couple playful taps before sitting back, “That’s good, dear. Thinking is good.” 

“I want to know about that thing you did the other day.” 

“Which thing?” The witch laughed, placing his feet flat on the rug as he leaned back onto his palms, “The protection spell? Or the wards we put in your cave? Which one, wolf?” 

“No…” Chanyeol shook his head and very shyly reached up to shove his hair out of his face, “The… kissing, I asked but then you didn’t…” 

Baekhyun immediately felt a weight on his shoulders and clenched his jaw. He had been thinking about this, and wasn’t sure how to proceed. 

In fact, Baekhyun stayed up that entire night wondering why he’d been a complete _imbecile_ and kissed the werewolf. 

He wondered whether it was due to the fact he rarely saw people these days, or the fact he hadn’t had a relationship in so long; he’d even gone as far as to consider that it was due to Chanyeol’s _pheromones,_ that werewolves did have, but Baekhyun couldn’t even smell them.

God. Who knew a witch could be such an idiot?

“There’s no reason to bring it up,” Baekhyun stood up with a clear of his throat, “It’s completely done with. It… was in the past.” 

“Baekhyun. It was last week.” 

“A week in the past,” The witch commented, shaking his head as he walked into the kitchen, “Nevermind that, what do you want for dinner, dog?” 

“You always do that.” 

Baekhyun startled and dropped the bag of dried beans in his hand when Chanyeol spoke just beside his ear.

The kitchen was a tiny place and since the wolf had little to no sense of boundaries he was right up against him, having been as silent as possible.

It didn’t surprise Baekhyun that Chanyeol had been quiet enough to startle him, he was a predator after all, it only made him nervous being so close to him.

It could make him do something stupid, like _kiss_ him or something.

“Do I need to teach you about personal space again?” Baekhyun sighed and laid a hand on his naked chest in an attempt to push him back, but he knew it would have little to no effect on Chanyeol who was double his weight in pure muscle mass.

“You call me _dog_ when you get worried.” 

Baekhyun’s brows pulled together in offense and he laughed a dry, unamused noise, “What exactly am I worried over?” 

Chanyeol's lips were in a flat line before his eyes flickered around in thought. Then, he sighed and slumped against the counter, “I don’t know.” He admitted, looking incredibly distraught.

Baekhyun felt his stomach begin to churn at the sad, pitiful expression on his face and had half a thought to tell himself to _stop playing around,_ because it was ridiculous if a witch had a crush on a werewolf. 

After four hundred years Baekhyun knew _better_ than to fall in love with a creature only a portion of his lifespan.

At the thought, he swallowed and felt his walls begin to build up in front of his eyes. That need to tell Chanyeol “ _get out, dog”_ and order him off of his land piled up.

It wouldn’t matter if he told Chanyeol to leave, the werewolf would come back tomorrow pretending he never told him to go, just like he did when he slunk around in wolf form for weeks; Chanyeol just always pretended like Baekhyun never told him to leave in the first place.

As if Baekhyun _deserved_ another chance to try again.

Plus, the protective barrier around the house only kept things with bad intent away. It wouldn’t keep the six foot one werewolf at bay when his only intent was to come play with a baby sloth and to ask Baekhyun endless questions. 

_“I just..”_ The werewolf started up, looking down at the wood floor, “My mom always used to say that if someone smelled _different_ then it was a good thing… like we were supposed to be tog-“

 _“You should leave.”_ Baekhyun cut him off with a deep hiss, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to stand off to the entrance to the kitchen. 

It was still only a foot away from the wolf, but it was the distance Baekhyun thought he needed to have. 

“But…” Chanyeol's eyes looked more childlike then, like he absolutely couldn’t understand why Baekhyun would be so rude to him when he’d just confessed something the witch chose to pretend not to know. “We’re supposed to be -“

“I can’t have you here.” Baekhyun raised his chin, “I’m afraid you’re not welcome here any longer.” 

The werewolf’s entire expression dropped further. No longer did he have a childlike confusion to him, it was just pure _pain. Heartache._

Like Chanyeol couldn’t comprehend why Baekhyun would break his heart when they were mates.

Baekhyun knew what they were, he’d gone home to research more when he heard Chanyeol say his scent was _off._

It was the witch's curiosity that made a discovery he wasn’t sure he’d wanted to know, so he hid it because he’d thought Chanyeol didn’t understand either.

He was only a child when his pack left, so Baekhyun had _hoped_ that meant he didn’t know much about werewolf dynamics and their destined mates. 

Baekhyun wasn’t wrong often, but he was this time. 

Baekhyun grimaced as Chanyeol brought his hands up to rub his eyes. He didn’t know if it was because he felt tearful or _rejected,_ but it made his heart sting. 

“Because…” The witch burst, hands out in front of him as if he could just take back rejecting the werewolf, “Because I don’t want to hurt you. Okay? Chanyeol… you should go because I make idiotic choices, and they could hurt you… we… we just wouldn’t work out.” 

“B-But…” The werewolf was teary when he removed his hands from his eyes, sniffling slightly like a kicked puppy he looked identical to, “You didn’t even _try._ Isn't… doesn’t kissing mean you want to try? I don’t.. I don’t know much. I’m not a smart person, but you told me I could _learn_ to be.” Chanyeol had begun to wring his hands together anxiously in front of himself and his eyes were bordering on the bright, brilliant _red_ that shone when he was a wolf. “Did… are you scared because someone got hurt before? I’m really strong, Baekhyun. Nothing is going to hurt me.” 

Baekhyun, having gotten tearful about halfway through the other’s mumbling, had it in him to laugh. It was a wet, painful sound, but one made because Chanyeol was so entirely _adorable. Perfect_ even. 

It was true. Chanyeol didn’t understand much, and what he said was contradictory considering he had a gash in his face from a tree and was already _hurting,_ but saying he could take the pain of being with him. 

Chanyeol was a sensitive creature, and Baekhyun normally wasn’t. But regarding things like _this…_ well, Baekhyun may shed a tear or ten. 

“You…” Baekhyun chuckled wetly again as he took a step closer to cup Chanyeol's face, “You’re a very observant creature, aren’t you?” 

“Is that a good thing?” 

Chanyeol leaned into his hand in such a way that made Baekhyun cry a bit harder and pet the werewolf’s tears away with his thumb, “I don’t know.” Baekhyun admitted, “But I can tell you that you _are_ right. Someone has gotten hurt before.” 

“Did you love them?” Chanyeol whispered. 

“I did.” Baekhyun muttered, giving a small shake of his head, “I was too arrogant. I _am_ arrogant, I could get you hurt, like I hurt him. I never accounted for… the pain that could come with immortality. But everything dies except _me._ Do you know how difficult it is to leave someone because you never die, and they _do?_ I had no way to explain myself to a human who didn’t know what I was. I hurt them, and when I realized I should apologize… I failed to recognize how long had passed since then. I’ve made many mistakes, but I hold myself accountable for them.” 

“They…” Chanyeol frowned, “They died before you said sorry? That’s not your fault… you were scared.” 

Perhaps it was the pure innocence in tone, or because he sounded so entirely _understanding,_ but Baekhyun couldn’t take it.

“Oh, I’m still very scared, pup.” The witch shook his head, “But it’s been three hundred years since then. I’ve aged… and promised I wouldn’t make mistakes like it anymore.” 

“Am… _I_ going to be a mistake?” 

Baekhyun barely got a laugh out before he was leaning over to capture Chanyeol's mouth, fingers lingering along the shell of his ear and holding back lost strands of hair.

There was something so innocent about Chanyeol's kissing. He didn’t quite know what to do, yet he tried hard to do his best. 

Baekhyun was incredibly endeared by him. 

“I guess we’ll have to find out.”

***

Baekhyun had a plan. 

Given his previous lover was so long ago and _human,_ he’d never been sure what to do regarding the fact Chanyeol’s lifespan was not like his.

Chanyeol _wasn’t_ immortal. 

He’d been thinking for a while, but he’d never made a spell quite like an immortality one before. 

It was one that didn’t work on humans, it was too strong it overtook them, so he’d never had a chance to give it to someone he cared about before. 

Chanyeol was deserving, and he had the magic Baekhyun needed for it.

The witch was lying on the bed with a hand in the werewolf’s hair. Chanyeol wasn’t sleeping either, only the werewolf was busy looking at a book of spells, mainly because it had pictures, and Chanyeol couldn’t read yet. 

Baekhyun could teach him that later, it wasn’t that pressing of a worry for the witch.

It worried him far more knowing that Chanyeol could get gravely injured out there and _die._ It worried him knowing that the werewolf wouldn’t just heal up and laugh it off.

“Chanyeol, if I told you that a potion would make you sick, but immortal, would you take it?” 

The bed shifted beside him before Baekhyun had an eyeful of round, reddish eyes. “If it makes you happy, sure. I’ve never been sick before, maybe it’s not that bad.” 

Baekhyun croaked a tired laugh before cupping the back of his head to bring him down into a short kiss.

“You’re too sweet. You’d get sick for me?” 

“If I need to so you’re not sad when I go out anymore,” Chanyeol answered with a short shrug, pressing his nose into the side of Baekhyun’s cheek in a way that suggested he wanted to be pet, “I don’t mind.” 

“I feel evil being happy to hear that,” Baekhyun teased, pressing a kiss to his ear and holding his head into his neck, “Don't you know witches are bad, pup?” 

_“Maybe ones that smell like sap are.”_ Chanyeol rumbled against his throat. 

Baekhyun snickered and went to reply when there was a loud screech beside the bed and the covers began to be pulled off towards the side of the bed.

“Ah, the baby is mad we’re cuddling without him.” Chanyeol laughed and moved away.

“I hear you, my love,” Baekhyun soothed, sitting up to view a wide eyed baby sloth innocently yanking the covers trying to get up with the familiar pink bear in hand, “We can’t forget Momo, huh? I know, dear. We were just getting up.” 

“We were?” 

Baekhyun scrunched his nose up when he laughed and allowed Momo to climb into his shirt, “Get up, wolf, we have things to do.” 

Chanyeol grumbled and climbed out of bed, “How come Momo gets nice names and I don’t?”

“What?” The witch wondered as he approached the living room, shooing Momo’s bear and hands out of his face which in turn made the sloth shriek angrily at him for rejecting his _very_ extreme need to give love.

Momo’s way of giving love involved a lot of claws that only Chanyeol could take though, so Baekhyun _kindly_ rejected, for now.

“He gets _my love,_ I get _dog.”_

“I call you _pup.”_ Baekhyun argued as he bent down to open up the basement hatch before a thought occurred to him and he gasped dramatically as he looked up at the wolf, “Wait, are you jealous?” 

Chanyeol pointedly looked away, “I don’t know what that word means.” 

_“Liar.”_ Baekhyun mused before snickering and climbing down the steps, “Come on then, my love!” 

Momo popped long arms out of the collar of his top with a squeak, thinking the term was for him, which it _wasn’t_ just this once.

Instead it was for the pouting werewolf that now had a shy smile on his face as he walked down the creaking steps. 

“Happy?” Baekhyun teased as he turned a few lanterns on.

Chanyeol mumbled a soft _yes_ and curiously looked around.

Baekhyun didn’t really ever _invite_ the wolf down into the basement, even Momo didn’t come down here. There were just too many valuable and dangerous things.

“Okay, I need you to shift so I can get some fur.” Baekhyun commented as he tugged the furry sloth from his top. Momo was leaning over the collar so much the witch was ready to choke.

 _“This_ is why sloths don’t get to have playtime down here,” Baekhyun scolded, pointing a finger at the sloth as he placed him onto an empty table top. 

Momo yelled back disagreeing, but Baekhyun stuck his nose up and murmured, “Sorry, I don’t speak sloth, my dear,” which made the sloth slump against his teddy bear with a screech.

“Okay, you have to stay calm so daddy can make Chanyeol something,” Baekhyun ordered, patting his little bottom and walking around the cement floor for scissors and a small wooden bowl. 

Chanyeol made a quiet barking noise and Baekhyun rolled his eyes when the werewolf whimpered and pressed ears down on his head when the barking bounced off the walls of the cement basement. 

“That’s why dogs aren’t allowed in the spell room,” Baekhyun scolded, nudging Chanyeol's side for him to turn around.

Having a huge wolf in a rather small room was a mistake, but it was only for a moment as Baekhyun cut off a few good chunks of fur from the red area on him.

It was strange that the red fur even felt more coarse and thick than the rest. 

“You can turn back, sweetheart,” The witch mumbled, giving him a few pets before walking towards the cauldron across the room.

The sulking sloth tried to grab out at him when he walked past and Baekhyun rolled his eyes and leaned down for the kiss Momo wanted to give - it was basically just an opened mouth, tongue filled press of his mouth on Baekhyun’s face, but it was still cute.

“Play with Momo when you’re done, _please._ Can't have him getting into my jars.” 

Baekhyun turned his attention into dumping the fur into the giant pot of blessed water and digging into his cabinets.

“How are you going to make something in that thing?” Chanyeol wondered as he pulled his discarded pajama pants on, “It’s not even on fire.” 

“Not _yet,”_ Baekhyun tsked as he dumped handfuls of fairy dust into the pot, more than he preferred to use, but it was a necessary piece of the immortality potion. “How about you just keep your snout where it belongs and let the witch do the witching, hm?” 

“Rude.” 

Baekhyun snickered, “Fine. If you want to help, give me some dragon scales.” 

Chanyeol's eyes widened in his spot letting Momo latch onto his arm, “Um… what does that look like?” 

“They’re blue and green scales. They’re beside the lizard tails and siren eyes. I like to sort by color.” 

Baekhyun could practically feel the disgust that went into Chanyeol’s _oh_ and giggled as he spun around with a shake of his head to pat the werewolf’s cheek, “I got it, take a seat, pup.” 

The werewolf was more than happy to sit down on the table and let Momo claw him up with love after that, and Baekhyun noticed him pointedly looking away from jars.

It was cute, the witch remembered back in the day even he had been squeamish about the jars of eyes and monkey tails, but after the fourth or fifth dragon he skinned, it didn’t matter to him. 

They were all just ingredients he needed and he wasn’t harming anything _alive._

Baekhyun never was one to go hunting his own things, but he did buy from knights or foragers, but dragons and unicorns weren’t exactly _kind_ nor _rare_ creatures despite human belief, so he didn’t feel all that bad grinding up horns and nails.

Or maybe Baekhyun was just a bit cruel.

(That was okay, because Chanyeol’s kindness would make up for it.) 

The witch dumped in a dragon scale, the shavings of a unicorn horn, and just when he dropped a phoenix tooth into the pot a big burst of flames threatened his fingertips.

It was so high Chanyeol yelled a _wow!_ and Momo screeched in amazement, but Baekhyun just stayed blank faced and began to stir the bubbling pot to calm the flames a bit. 

“I guess you don’t need a fire after all!” Chanyeol cried, laughing. 

Baekhyun’s lip quirked up a bit before he pressed his lips together and left the boiling pot to walk the short distance to the pair.

“So what’s next!” The werewolf’s eyes were huge despite it being so late, his smile was beaming and pearly teeth on show, “Um… are we gonna add like… like eagle bones or something!” 

The witch snickered, he thought it was cute Chanyeol thought some animals were _magical_ ones when they really weren’t. Things like jaguars and lions could add to a potion, but they weren’t as powerful as something magical. 

He wouldn’t break Chanyeol's poor, hunter heart though, and let him believe the bones from his hunts went to good use. 

“Next, we let it boil down for an hour or so,” Baekhyun hummed as he pet Momo’s back, “Then, we’ll go upstairs and get you comfortable because you’re going to be sick for a bit, Chanyeol. You understand that, right?” 

“That’s okay!” The werewolf laughed with these excited, childlike eyes, “I’ll learn how to read in that time.” 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered, laying a palm along the werewolf’s cheek before pressing a light kiss to his opposite one, “You realize what this potion will do, correct?” 

“It means I’m going to stay with you guys for _always.”_

Baekhyun’s heart felt like it could go beating right out of his chest as he laughed under his breath and ran fingers over the shell of his ear, “I guess that’s one way to see it, darling.” 

Chanyeol's dimple sat deep on his cheek and he tilted his head a small bit to the side, “Well how else will I see it?” He wondered, “Isn’t it going to make me live as old as you and then we can be mates, teach me to be smart, and you’ll take care of me when I get sick? It’s okay. I’m not scared.” 

Baekhyun, suddenly, didn’t feel all that scared _either._

“I was wrong about you,” The witch smiled, eyes slightly glossy, “You are much more intelligent than I give you credit for. You just see things a bit differently than I do, maybe you can teach me instead.” 

“Oh, but I’m not very smart…” Chanyeol shuffled sheepishly, “I just know things how I know them.” 

“No,” Baekhyun tsked and tapped a scolding finger against his chin when his head began to sink down, “You are the smartest person I know.” 

“You must not know many people.” 

Baekhyun burst with laughter and wrapped his palm around the back of Chanyeol's neck to rest their heads together, “You got me there, my love.” 

**EXTRA:**

_“Shush!”_ Baekhyun cried with laughter and tossed a palm across Momo’s face, struggling in the darkness as he climbed over a fallen tree branch, “Appa can hear you, you know?” 

The sloth, now weighing in at a healthy ten pounds, screamed louder and whined as he shifted to hang on the back of his neck.

Baekhyun didn’t have time to scold him for potentially choking him with the long limb that wrapped around his neck.

Instead, he was on a journey running through the jungle in the dead of night.

The hardest part was that the light from the moon was disrupted by all of the trees overlapped with other canopy tops, so there was barely any light in the jungle at night.

Luckily, Baekhyun wasn’t scared. 

He knew the rustling nearby was from a huge wolf rather than a jaguar or a snake, and even if they got to him all he had to do was cry out and Chanyeol would come chew them to pieces.

Baekhyun hadn’t been expecting Chanyeol's first request after feeling better to _play chase._ He’d expected maybe a nice dinner, something the werewolf could keep down for more than an hour, or even a breather outside.

Chanyeol had been bedridden for two months after all, long and hard months where Baekhyun had to divide time between taking care of Momo, going to the village to buy food for both his wolf and sloth, _and_ making sure everything was going well with his potion.

There had been a day or two where Baekhyun wondered if he’d done something wrong, because Chanyeol had been so pale and violently sick, yet always greeted him with a smile and waved off his concern.

But, what came out of all the struggle was a werewolf looking much healthier than ever before. 

Chanyeol had lost all scars he’d had on his body, his hair was sleek and shining, and his wolf form seemed twice as agile. 

The relief Baekhyun had completely outweighed the common sense in him that told him playing chase in the rainforest at past midnight wasn’t a good idea, he’d agreed immediately.

“If you’re going to be loud then we have to play dirty.” Baekhyun grumbled to Momo, feeling around on the muddied ground - _again,_ something he’d never do previously - until he found a spot clear of twigs. 

The witch jumped into the spot to take a seat cross legged with dirt marking his body as he took out a small pouch from his breast pocket.

Baekhyun squinted as he spread the powder around them in a circle.

Just as he completed it he caught a glint of red eyes flickering in front of him and laughed, “Come on then, what are you going to do now, Yeol?” 

Baekhyun could practically feel the irritation of the werewolf when there was a sniff and then a loud sneeze, he could hear the _you didn’t!_ whine Chanyeol would have done when the wolf whimpered and pressed his ears down.

“Predator repellent, _ha!”_ Baekhyun cried triumphantly, “I win. I always win, pup.” 

Chanyeol began to whine and sulked close enough that Baekhyun could see him clearly standing on a fallen tree and pouting.

He knew the dust well, they tended to leave it around the sloth’s when Momo wanted to play on days Chanyeol caught wind of a jaguar too close to the sloth’s trees for comfort. 

Unfortunately, it did keep Chanyeol away too and gave him a mean burn if he touched it.

“Ugh. Don't make me feel bad now!” The witch huffed, “What? You expected a witch to play fair? Fair is not in my dictionary, my dear.” 

Momo began to squeal and pressed his face into Baekhyun’s cheek, throwing a complete fit. 

Baekhyun sighed and _swore_ the two were in cahoots. He wouldn’t even be surprised if he found out Chanyeol was teaching Momo how to suck up these days because of how needy the two acted. 

“Fine, fine, you can see appa. But for the _record_ I won this.” Baekhyun huffed to himself as he reached over to kick the powder away. 

Almost instantly there was a huge wolf running their way, tongue lulled out and Baekhyun began to shriek even before Chanyeol licked a line straight up his cheek.

“Hey! I’ll tolerate muddy paws, but I won’t tolerate slobber!” 

The rumbling, laugh-like bark Chanyeol was doing trailed off into a very human sounding laugh complete with a beaming smile. “I won!”

“Cheater! You had Momo cheat for you!” Baekhyun complained, whining and tossing himself back into the dirt.

As if proving him right, Momo went hopping onto Chanyeol’s shoulder to lock arms around his bicep, fixing Baekhyun with a look that the witch could only interpret as “ _you were mean to appa!”_

“Can’t a witch act evil around here without judgement?” Baekhyun sighed, draping an arm around the back of Chanyeol's neck, “I feel so upset right now, it can only be fixed with an apology.” 

“Does kissing count as an apology?” 

Baekhyun would have laughed had Chanyeol not been so serious. 

“For the last time,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes and cupped his muddied cheek, “We have a _very_ long time together, please stop asking to kiss me, Chanyeol. I tell you _yes_ every time.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: Gigi_B56 - Come see sneak peeks of stories!
> 
> https://curiouscat.qa/Gigi_B56 - Ask me questions!


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